Matt Bevington

UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy The Strategy sets out the government's long-term plan for economic, housing and social infrastructure to drive growth.

Yesterday's 10-year infrastructure strategy was a welcome focus on the long-term future of our public realm.

And it included the govt making a commitment to consider where public-private partnerships might be the best way of funding some new projects

www.gov.uk/government/p...

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A new tool in the government’s infrastructure toolkit - now to use it Written by Matt Bevington, FGF Policy Associate.

@mattbevington.bsky.social argues in his Infrastructure Strategy analysis that the government should produce & publish assessments of the long-term costs of publicly financed projects.
Read it here to find out more ⬇️
futuregovforum.substack.com/p/a-new-tool...

🚨New report with @homesfornorth calls on the government to adopt a novel approach to affordable housing investment:

Giving Homes England a ‘National Affordable Housing Bank’ role to invest alongside the private sector in funds set up to deliver discounted rent homes.

A 🧵on why this is needed:

Most reasonable-minded Labour members think we should have a rules-based system that’s controlled. The issue is how the party decides to frame the issue. Labour can’t win a debate where immigration is presented as a threat to society and bad for the economy. It can win a debate about fairness.

Time to revive public-private partnerships?

Today's Public Accounts Committee session on private finance in #infrastructure heard how government can:
👉 Deliver high quality infrastructure on time via private sector
👉 Give investor certainty with a long-term project pipeline
👉 Avoid costly disputes

From Collapse to Comeback: What Canada’s Liberal Party Teaches Us About Defeating Populism Written by Shuab Gamote, Researcher, The Future Governance Forum.

How did Mark Carney overturn a huge lead for the Conservative Party into an election win for the Liberal Party?

FGF Researcher @Shuab.bsky.social analyses the Canadian elections & identifies 3 lessons for progressive governments facing populist threats.

futuregovforum.substack.com/p/from-colla...

And only half of the 74 take place in Titus Andronicus

As the publication of the UK 10-year infrastructure strategy looms, and public finances continue to look extraordinarily tight (even more so after Trump's tariff announcement), the govt needs as many infrastructure financing tools to hand as possible.

Couple of interesting recent pieces on this:

Is PFI about to stage a comeback? As part of Building's new Funding the Future series, Joey Gardiner considers the chances of an unlikely renaissance for the much-maligned initiative

How will the schools, hospitals and roads of the future be funded?

Building Magazine spoke to FGF Policy Associate @mattbevington.bsky.social about Infrastructure Investment Partnerships ⬇️

www.building.co.uk/focus/is-pfi...

NEW: Public Finance story by ‪@jamiehailstone.bsky.social‬ quoting FGF Deputy Director @adamterryfgf.bsky.social on our proposal for a new model of getting private finance to build schools, hospitals, roads etc, called Infrastructure Investment Partnerships ⬇️

www.publicfinance.co.uk/feature/2025...

What will stock market falls over Trump’s tariffs mean for UK pensions and savings? As global stock markets fall, personal investments including pensions and stocks and shares could be affected

A lot of commentary about the future impact of tariffs on consumers, far too little on the impact they have had already on pensions and savings.

Voters - especially older voters - can see these impacts in real time and it’s making them poorer.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Very excited to be working with @davidlawrenceuk.bsky.social @jujulemons.bsky.social and team to make the progressive case for growth as a fellow at the new Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.bsky.social

Interesting piece. Starmer seems hostile to “ideology” in all forms, which makes him difficult to locate, and also makes a set of consistent tenets difficult to identify. But I’d say that’s more about him than what modern social democracy may or may not be. He’s never sought to be a flag bearer.

Lessons learned: Private finance for infrastructure - NAO report The aim of this National Audit Office report is to support public bodies as they consider how to finance new public infrastructure.

Interesting report out today from @nao.org.uk, looking over 140 previous publications for lessons learned on using private finance for infrastructure (hot topic in a world of constrained public finances).

Lots chimes with our @futuregovforum.bsky.social work.

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www.nao.org.uk/reports/less...

📣OUT NOW – Impactful Devolution 02: Local govt for the digital era

Last week the PM set out plans for digital change across Whitehall.

Our new report with @publicdigital.bsky.social sets out how digital can drive reform in local govt. Read it here ⬇️
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/imp...

Last week, we launched Rebuilding the Nation 05: Spurring Innovation 💡🔬

The report asks how govt can drive innovation in space, AI & quantum, unlocking new sources of growth & cementing the UK’s status as a tech leader.

Read the report, or read on 🧵
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/reb...

Rugby head: VAT on fees should be given to local schools and charities VAT levied on private school fees should be given to local schools and charities rather than disappearing into a Treasury ‘black hole’

These schools tend to be in more affluent areas (because that’s where the clientele is), so this would redistribute resources *away from* the most in need places 🤔

www.thetimes.com/article/513a...

Already circulating

China is now more of an ally for Europeans on these issues than the US, which is quite an achievement for the Trump admin

500,000 US soldiers were killed or wounded in Europe fighting Nazis in WWII…

I love the idea that it’s Europe, in fact, that’s being soft on Putin, not the guy who seems ready to capitulate to his every demand

Health Secretary signals support for more private investment to fix the NHS Wes Streeting said there is a ‘hell of a lot more to do’ to sort out the health service.

With our hospitals crumbling, the Health Secretary's openness to "serious proposals" on leveraging private capital – on the right terms – is welcome.

FGF has proposed Infrastructure Investment Partnerships – a new PPP model inspired by Labour govts in 🇦🇺 and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
www.independent.co.uk/business/hea...

As big a question for European leaders tomorrow is what is our response if Russia tests the integrity of Article 5, even in a small way, suspecting the US no longer stands behind it

My only comment on the Super Bowl build up…

The Philip Williams bio is v good - the sort of “official” version

🚨 New starter pack alert 🚨

Some of the leading thinkers, practitioners and organisations shaping how government works – and how it could work better, all in one place.

Take a look, follow and share around!
go.bsky.app/E3DgZbX

The challenge in future will be that there are now sunk costs in these operational changes, so unless there is some compelling reason to shift back to the UK, many businesses will stick with new arrangements even if we did rejoin in some fashion.

Most businesses will have made these decisions by now. They can’t operate in semi-permanent limbo, so the former might have been true immediately post-ref, but not now. That we haven’t seen a rebound post-deal tells you it did not surprise on the upside. So I’d say it’s both, and now structural.

John Prescott funeral: two Jags bring Labour ‘titan’ to Hull Minster service More than 300 mourners attended the funeral and lined the streets to remember a ‘true giant’ of British politics in his adopted home

Great quote by Blunkett on Prescott

“John and I both grew up in South Yorkshire,” said Blunkett, “and he had all the traits of South Yorkshire: brilliant on the one hand, and bloody awkward on the other!”

www.thetimes.com/article/f307...

I agree that we can and should aim to. That’s what the English Devolution White Paper makes big steps towards (if carried through) in England. Changing economic geography is a medium term project though, now gladly with cross-party support, but until then redistribution is essential.